IOWA GAP ANALYSIS PROGRAM

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www.herpnet.net/Iowa-Herpetology
animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu
IOWA GAP ANALYSIS PROGRAM
American Goldfinch
Northern Leopard Frog
Developing the Land Cover Layer
National Gap Analysis Program Five Point Mission
Developing the Vertebrate Habitat Layer

• Map the land cover of the United States
• Map predicted distributions of vertebrates for
  the U.S.
• Document the representation of land cover types
  and vertebrate species in areas managed for
  the long-term maintenance of biodiversity
• Provide this information to planners and policy
  makers for land use decisions, and to
  educators, scientists, natural resource managers
  and the public
• Build institutional cooperation in the
  application of this information to state and
  regional management activities.

• Phase 2 Classification Overview
• Used Phase 1 land cover from the Iowa DNR and two
  dates of Landsat TM data per scene
• Overlaid aggregated NWI digital wetlands
  information on Phase 1 before unsupervised
  classification
• Used ERDAS Imagine image processing software to
  process the state scene by scene
• Masked out all but one class and refined it to
  represent spectrally distinct map classes
• Combined the detectable alliance aggregations
  into one image
• Merged all 12 scenes into one statewide detailed
  land cover image
• Post-processed barren class this class included
  map labels besides actual barren sites, many in
  large cropland areas.

• Phase 1 Classification Overview
• Phase 1 processing was done by the Geological
  Survey Bureau, Iowa DNR, Iowa City
• Pre-processed, clustered TM satellite data from
  the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics
• Consortium (MRLC) was used to define 6 general
  land cover classes
• EASI/PACE imaging software was used to
  consolidate the originally clustered 240 spectral
  classes into crop, urban, barren, trees,
  herbaceous and water
• A variety of ground referenced data was used to
  label the classified image

Gap analysis is a scientific method for
identifying the degree to which native animal
species and natural communities are represented
in our present-day mix of conservation lands.
Those species and communities not adequately
represented in the existing network of
conservation lands constitute conservation
"gaps." The purpose of GAP is to provide broad
geographic information
on the status of ordinary species (those not
threatened with extinction or naturally rare) and
their habitats in order to provide land managers,
planners, scientists, and policy makers with the
information they need to make better-informed
decisions. GAP is a tool by which we can keep
common species common.
Probable Range for Savannah Sparrow Based Upon
Point Distribution and Expert Review
Vertebrate Habitat Modeling Process
State Vertebrate Species Lists
Expert Review
Species Point Distributions and Range Maps
Habitat Association Data
Statewide 1992 Land Cover
Species Habitat Relational Models
Selected Land Cover Classes Based Upon Literature
Review
Detail, Ames Area, Story County
Accuracy Assessment Our classification effort
and ground referenced data collection began in
late 1997 and continued for three years. The
five year minimum difference from our remotely
sensed data has likely caused some
misclassification and definitely created some
confusing situations during the entire process.
This time lag will extend to nine years when
accuracy assessment is complete in 2001. It is
known that grasslands, croplands and
Predicted Species Distributions
Vegetation Cover
urban areas have changed significantly in the
last nine years. ISU was funded by the EPA to do
an intense accuracy assessment study for the EPA
region 7 states. Iowa carried out a successful
pilot of that protocol in the summer of 2000, but
due to limited funds cannot use this protocol
across the entire state. We will be testing a
process for computer-based accuracy assessment.
The basic assumption of GAPs predicted species
distribution maps is that a species has a high
probability of occurring in suitable habitat
types that are within the species range. A
vertebrate species habitat model (presence or
absence) is developed based on existing range or
point distribution data, other ancillary data
relative to a species habitat, along with the
GAP vegetation (land cover) layer. These
predicted distributions are combined with land
stewardship boundaries to identify potential
habitat that should be targeted for conservation
planning.
Predicted Habitat Distribution of Savannah
Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
Associated Projects
Iowa NatureMapping Involving citizens in
mapping Iowa's biodiversity Iowa has become the
third state to implement a new type of wildlife
monitoring program, joining Washington and
Virginia. This new program, known as
NatureMapping, is the education, outreach, and
volunteer component of the Iowa Gap program.
Iowa NatureMapping is designed to give
participants the basics of how to collect
information on common wildlife species in order
to contribute to a statewide effort to map Iowas
biodiversity. There are not enough
professionals, time, or funding to conduct an
inventory of all the nations flora and fauna
without broader help. One way to achieve the
needed inventory is to involve an interested
publicthats what NatureMapping is all about.
Individuals, schools, county conservation boards,
and other community groups can all participate.
Current and Upcoming Work Work with the Iowa
DNR to create advanced NatureMapping training
sessions in conjunction with the Wildlife
Diversity Program's non-game wildlife monitoring
surveys Coordinate with the State GIS office to
offer ArcView training workshops to Area
Education Agencies Provide online maps of
volunteers' data using ArcView GIS
coverages Continue to offer basic NatureMapping
workshops To date, 172 people have been trained
in the basics of NatureMapping.

• Iowa Rivers Information System - IRIS (aka Iowa
  Aquatic GAP)
• The IRIS Project was developed froma need of
  Iowas natural resourcemanagers to have quality
  informationabout state rivers and the flora
  andfauna associated with them. This project
  will be a cooperative effort between several DNR
  Divisions, ISU and many other interested
  organizations.
• IRIS will be a statewide GIS database using the
  National Hydrography Dataset as the base
  linework. A database with many variables will be
  attached to the linework and new variables can be
  added as the project progresses.
• As data is generated, it will be made accessible
  to users through ESRIs Internet Map Server
  software. This will allow anyone with an
  Internet connection to view and query the data
  and create their own maps with user-defined
  layers.
• Goals of IRIS
• Document the health of Iowas riverine
  environments
• Prioritize conservation efforts
• Track biodiversity locally within a global
  perspective
• Provide a consistent base layer for locational
  accuracy